Excellent article from Walter Russell Mead pointing out several assumptions that have proven to be questionable at best, outright disasters at worst.

According to the Mr. Mead here’s a list of failures:

That we had a policy to end the North Korean nuclear drive (ditto for Iran)

That Europe was becoming a great posthistorical power based on the mighty engine of the euro

That the two-state solution was just a settlement freeze away

That international institutions and civil society were replacing national governments at the center of world politics

That immigration was a no-brainer

That the progress toward free trade was inexorable

That democracy was irresistibly on the march

Money quote: “A different kind of statesmanship, harder-edged and less sentimental, is going to be needed… Brutal clarity rather than liberal pink cloud thinking is the rising force in international affairs.”